QUINCY – A city developer has completed his purchase of the former MBTA ferry terminal at the Quincy shipyard, but the USS Salem, which is docked there, is expected to stay put for the rest of the year.

Fore River Recycling, a subsidiary owned by shipyard developer Jay Cashman, closed last week on its $1.1 million purchase of nearly 12 acres of land and water rights from the MBTA. The property is the former site of the Fore River ferry terminal and current docking location for the USS Salem, the former Navy cruiser that has long symbolized Quincy’s shipbuilding history.

As a result of the sale, the Salem will be relocated to the Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina in East Boston. Michael Condon, the executive director of the U.S. Naval Shipbuilding Museum, the nonprofit that owns the ship, said the Salem will likely leave Quincy in early 2015.

“Our expectation is that we will be in Quincy for a bit longer than our original plan, but we’re still moving forward with our relocation plan,” Condon said.

Condon said the pier at the East Boston shipyard needs to be refitted before it can take on the Salem.

The Salem, built in the Fore River shipyard in the 1940s, has been closed to the public since September, when the T discovered the wharf was unstable. The next month, the T closed the ferry terminal after a water-main break moved a sea wall and further damaged the wharf.

Since the 1990s, when the Salem returned to Quincy, the nonprofit group has leased water rights from the T and drew revenue by hosting tours of the ship, educational programs and its popular Haunted Ship attraction.

The T’s sale of the property to Cashman not only will end the Salem’s time in Quincy, but it shuts down the city’s commuter-ferry service. The T has expanded its service out of the Hingham terminal to accommodate Quincy riders.

Cashman, who already owns 26 acres in the shipyard, has said he’ll repair the damaged wharf at the former T property in order to expand the site of his company, Cashman Dredging. He said acquiring the T space will also allow his company to build a marine railway that can launch ships into the river.

Condon said the Salem’s current lease with the T is through the end of 2015. However, after the wharf was damaged, Condon said the T agreed to help fund the ongoing maintenance and care of the ship as well as cover some of the relocation expenses, as long as the Salem leaves the shipyard by next June.

Condon said there will be some sort of farewell ceremony to send off the Salem when it departs Quincy for East Boston.

Page 2 of 2 - Patrick Ronan may be reached at pronan@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @PRonan_Ledger.